Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)

I thank the Deputy for the question. It is important we discuss the all-island rail review, for which I have overall responsibility. I have a passion for rail and think it is important we restore as many of the lines as possible and do as many of the connections we can, especially in the west and north west where rail is lacking, and in the Deputy's constituency.

I met some people in Ulster in relation to the connection between Derry and Letterkenny and the line from Portadown through Down. We have the basis for this, namely, the all-island rail strategy. We have identified projects that can be done quickly and that we can get ready for implementation. When we launch our sectoral plan that will show exactly what we are doing. I am delighted the Deputy raised this specific area because sometimes we look at Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway but we need to make sure the west, north west and all around are connected by rail, as they should be, and right up into Northern Ireland, as we are doing on the Dublin to Belfast line. It is important we keep that momentum going and I look forward to working with the Deputy on that over the next four years.

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